Change

With the Easter Break looming, the clocks now back on British Summer Time and the first glimpses of new growth on the trees and plants, I certainly have started looking forward to warmer weather, longer days and sun …

But this is because we are coming out of winter. The seasons tick off their timing, winter to spring, spring to summer, summer to autumn and then back to winter's icy grip. The revolving door of time, the ever changing, yet unchanging characteristic of nature, the reassurance of the changing seasons. The seasons change, but we are reassured by their predictability.

What about real changes? Changes that make a difference and cannot be reversed? Growing up is one such change, for example. As I have said before, we start off life as a completely helpless babe, entirely dependent on others for everything and as we grow, we start to be able to make choices, take control of things. And it's then that we discover that being in control is hard. We don’t always get what we want, when we want it, so we learn to hate change. Change becomes a signal for unpleasantness, for more difficult things.

But we have to fight that; change is the very essence of the universe, at the very centre of everything and is impossible to fight. If we waste time energy & effort in holding back change, we are wasting opportunities and chances that pass us by. Like King Canute, trying to hold back change will only result in futility as profound as trying to hold back the tide.

(Historical aside: King Canute was a king who reigned over 1,000 years ago - a Viking king, who controlled what is now modern day Denmark, Norway & England - one of the most powerful people in the world. He was thought to be a good king, with great power, but even he could not control the changing nature of time, as demonstrated in his attempting to stop the tide from coming in…)

Change is, paradoxically, unchanging. There will always be change, whether it's global warming, the next version of Windows, or new houses growing up where there were once fields. Change, the only reliable, unchanging fact of living.

So how do we respond to change? As I said, we naturally learn to fear it, to see it as something to dread. But if we change our mindset, look ahead and seek out the opportunities the change brings, we can make so much more of what the future delivers us.

As a school, we are growing, changing, rapidly. That is what we have to do; moving from the temporaries, into this amazing building, was a huge change. And it was not simply looked forward to; some were worried about the space, having got used to the smallness of the old buildings, for example, and feared losing their way, or being caught somewhere they shouldn't be when we moved. And the new students & staff. But such is the way of things and we all adapted and now feel like this building is home, is our 'normality'. So we are now planning to grow again; we have over 100 new students joining us this coming September, and after Easter, we will start the process of getting to know them, so they feel part of our family before they even arrive. It will have a lovely new feel to the school, with almost 300 students in the corridors and classrooms! New friends and new opportunities.

As you know, we have also, last week, started to recruit all the new staff who will be joining us to help you all on your journey. We have, to date, had over 150 applications for 9 posts. Last week, we interviewed 23 people, putting them through a rigorous process to make sure we recruited only the best to join us in our growth.

(I am not arrogant enough to think that everyone who applied for a job here will read this, but if any are, I would like to thank them for taking the time to apply; it is not an easy task to find the time to complete an application form, think about the upheaval that moving jobs will make, and apply, in the complete uncertainty of the outcome. Everyone I met on interview was, in their own right, a truly unique individual, and not once did I think I had chosen badly to shortlist. To the successful candidates, I look forward to working with you as we continue to grow and develop this amazing school & to the unsuccessful ones, I wish you all the best in your own personal journeys - who knows; our paths may cross again.)

The process continues, as we recruit more staff this week & after Easter; in September, we will have over 50 people working in the school, all committed and passionate about helping everyone here be nothing but the best they can possibly be.

One of the questions I posed to the candidates last week was 'What, actually, do teachers do?'. This question was inspired, I must admit, by the great performance poet, Taylor Mali - look him up; he's simply amazing!

A simple question, with a hard answer, especially one that is short and to the point. But one candidate hit the nail on the head, and that is why we appointed them. The answer they gave was:

To be strong for the students, especially when they can't be strong themselves.

That is, indeed, what we are about!

We do have one major change after Easter, one to do with technology. I have stated this time and time again, and now we are getting there. After Easter, you will all be required to have a device, whether a laptop, ipad, tablet, or whatever, in the lesson. The teachers will not be able to provide you with one from a trolley. There are 4 ways you can do this:

Bring in your own device. This is by far the best option, in truth, as it's yours, then, and you know how it works. Your parents will need to check their home insurance, but it is usually possible to add this to most policies.

If you don’t have one, then your parents can lease one through the school. ParentMail letters went out a few weeks ago about this & for about £10 per month, you can have a device to use, with insurance included & it is yours to keep.

Or your parents can loan a device from the school. These cannot be taken home, however, but will be yours, personally, for your use during the day.

Or, finally, you can go to Mr Thow or Mr Connor and book out a device for use. This can only by at the start of school, or during break or lunch, however, and will not be a personal device - you will be given what is available.

But not having a device will not be accepted and will be followed up with a consequence, the same as if you had forgotten a pen or pencil. This technology is your future in work & we are building systems to help you have that important edge when it comes to it.

 

For details of the school's reason why we are insisting that students have devices in lessons, please read the following blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ukschools/archive/2015/03/31/andrew-howard-why-is-1-1-not-personal-enough.aspx


 

Being yourself

This week's assembly, following the last one on labels:

Now, I know that there has been so much written about the topic of 'being yourself', so many self-help books, and so many people offering to help you 'find yourself'. This is a hot topic, one that many people keep away from. But it is important and while I am sure that the vast majority of what I say will go in one ear and out the other, I do ask that you listen today.

Over the last few weeks, the newspaper I read has been launching a campaign called 'Time To Mind', to try to make the government look at youth mental health and wellbeing much more seriously than ever before. We all recognise that growing up is hard, but it has become so 'true', so embedded in our culture, that as adults, we tend to take the line that it was hard for us, so you just need to get on with it and it will soon be all over - it all gets better when you're an adult.

The trouble is, this is wrong on two counts. First of all, just because of the amount of money spent on 'self-help', the number of books offering to solve all our problems, clearly shows that, in fact, being an adult isn't the answer to any problems! If you have not got yourself sorted as a teenager, you'll not be sorted as an adult, either.

But more importantly, things are, actually, harder for you than they were for us. Growing up is hard. The pressures of finding out who you are, wrestling with self-doubt, fighting to have an opinion, to be able to make decisions, are all the same as when we were young. But society has changed. Things are harder. As a generation, you are more aware of the need to achieve as an adult than ever before - the infringement of media, television, music & movie stars all make us aware that there is so much more for us to aspire to. The high profile nature of exams, and the need to succeed, are much more to the front of people's minds, and then there's the 24-7 nature of the internet, selfies, online chat, body image and bullying make a toxic mix that can swamp anyone.

The thing is, however, you can take control - you can do something about this. You are, in fact, in control and can make decisions about your health.

I was reading an article over the weekend about a woman who really got a bad deal online … she was, as a teenager, just browsing through YouTube, as you do, and saw a link to a video titled the ugliest woman in the world. Clicking on it, as you would, it slowly dawned on her that the video was about herself! Now, I don't know about you, but that would simply be devastating - I do not know how she did it, but she took control, set up a website and YouTube channel to let people know who the ugliest woman in the world was & it now has almost a quarter of a million followers & has given talks around the world on how to stand up for yourself, how to define yourself, rather than being defined by others. Lizzie Velasquez is her name - look her up.

And that is the point. As a school, we hold Healthy School status, and this is in recognition of the fact that we care about your health. And want you to have the facts and skills to do something about your health. And health is not just about eating the right things and taking exercise. Yes, these are important, but doing something positive to make your mind healthy is actually more important than anything. How you are feeling, what you are thinking, has such a powerful control of your body! There are studies after studies that show clearly that positive thinking, a healthy mind, has huge impact on everything else. At the most extreme, a survey of the mental state of cancer patients shows that, to put it simply, the patients with a positive self-image, a positive mental outlook and a clear determined mind, knowing that they are in control were more likely to survive treatment, and go on to live better lives, than those with negative outlooks.

But what does that mean to us? Well, it is simple, and, in fact, links to my last assembly on labels. First of all, you need to know, to understand, to believe that no-one can hurt you, mentally, without you actually giving them permission to do so. Yes, physically, someone can punch, kick or assault you. If they do, our policy is simple - whoever makes the first physical assault, whatever the grounds, is issued with a minimum of a one-day external exclusion. There is never a reason to physically attack another person.

But mentally? That is where you are in control. First of all, you can choose to take yourself away from the situation, to put a distance between you and them. Yes, with the internet, this is harder, but almost all chat room / messenger technology specifically allows you to block individuals.

Secondly, you can report it and seek help. Yes, I know, you are all, almost without exception, going to tell me that this never works, that all it does is bring on more, and anyhow, it's grassing and you don't grass.

Well, let me tackle all three of these areas:

It does work. Simple. Here, we have a clear code of conduct that states that intimidation, harassment or bullying are not tolerated. Any student who feels it is fine to intimidate another, to call them names, to make their life horrible, is not welcome here. There is a big 'but' here, however. You need to not retaliate. To not let the words make you angry. Instead, report, report, report. The school systems for you to report are simple - go online and fill out an incident report and it will be dealt with.

Second; it will only bring on more if you let it. As soon as you report it, someone will investigate, will talk to people, will provide you with support. The people picking on you will try to have a go at you, will try to stop you reporting it, but only to save their own skin!

And this leads me to the last; grassing. As a concept, I do understand it, I do get why it has become accepted, but as a way to do things, it always strikes me as a really, really stupid standpoint to take. Especially if you are a victim of harassment. The only people who win if grassing stops people acting are the bullies, the people making your lives miserable are being protected by your wrong impression that it's a bad thing to tell.

If someone is calling you fat, or stupid, or ugly; if they are spreading rumours about you, or posting messages about you online, then we will act. Trying to put people down in order to make yourself look better is the lowest, nastiest, worst characteristic as person can have and there is no space for such people here.

So, take control, don't let others control how you feel and look for the good things to focus on. That way, you can be happy and achieve whatever you put your mind to.

To finish, then, a couple sections from two poems. The writers of the words are separated by over 150 years, but the message is the same from both people - take control of your life, be in charge of who you are and don't let anyone else dictate to you who you are.

First of all, a few lines from a poem I've read before: If, Rudyard Kipling.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you …

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build them up with worn out tools …

And finally, I am sure you will quickly work out who wrote these lines:

I stay out too late

Got nothing on my brain,

That's what people say.

But I keep cruising

Can't stop, won't stop moving

It's like I got this music

In my mind

Saying "It's going to be all right."

Because the players are going to play,

And the haters are going to hate

Baby, I'm just going to shake,

I shake it off.

And if you didn't get it, that was Taylor Swift, "Shake it Off". . . (I bet you've never heard her quoted like that before...)

Labels

This week's theme for assembly was on 'Labels':

Labels are everywhere and we use them all the time. They are used in so many ways that the whole concept of labelling is embedded deep into our culture - you can't go anywhere without seeing labels or being labelled.

And if we look way, way back, it becomes clear why we label - as a species, when we came down from the trees and started to explore the world around us, the bewildering array of new and different things could well have ended our evolutionary progress before we got very far indeed, as it so frequently has. The thing is, the world is such a complex place, so full of new things, that our brains could easily become overwhelmed by the variety. Or we could become so limited that our very existence would be at risk. As an example of this, there is a species of bird that will only eat a specific fruit from one type of tree. It doesn't matter that there are other trees, or that there are other fruit that this bird could eat, but no; they do not have the ability to look and compare and judge that another fruit is, in effect, the same or similar to the one they eat. And as a result, they are now at risk of extinction because the fruit from this one tree is changing due to global warming and they are not recognising the new fruit as something edible.

We must have, at some point, evolved the ability to look at things and recognise similarities - that fruit looks similar to this one, which I like, so I will probably like that one too. . . And so we evolve.

It's also important to be able to compare and contrast things so that we can spot things even if they don’t look like we expect them to do so. If I'm hunting an elephant, for example, I need to be able to find the elephant, even if it's partially hidden in a bush; this can only happen because our brains can look at a bush with an elephant hiding in it and spot the patterns that would indicate that there is an elephant in there. If we didn’t have that compare and contrast ability, we would not have seen the elephant, because we would only be looking for a whole elephant, like the one we have a mental picture of in our heads.

But this essential skill has evolved and become more complex as our world has become more complex and has changed as our society has changed. We are, by nature, a cataloguing, list making, labelling animal because it is what got us where we are. The trouble is, we can't stop labelling!

Labels can be useful - the labels on medicine telling us not to take it, the labels (or signs) warning us about danger, are all perfectly useful. Scientists who study patterns, looking for new discoveries; the elusive cure for cancer, say, or the solution to the world energy crisis will be found by labelling, cataloguing and looking for those patterns…

And labelling happens all the time in our day to day lives; in the supermarket, the food labels helping us make healthy choices, labels that help us clean our clothes effectively at the right temperature and in the right way. Labels can even be pretty harmless; I am wearing labels; my watch, my suit, even my socks, are all labelled, branded. So what? I can buy the most expensive item of clothing and it could well have been made in a factory somewhere in the world right next to a similar item being made for Primark - how do I know?

But this is where it starts to go wrong, and labelling can be something harmful. I, personally, do not think that I am any better than someone else, just because I am wearing an Armani watch, but the wearing of specific labels can frequently be interpreted in this way. It is why so many schools have very strict rules on clothing; because there are some people who feel that by wearing a particular brand of shoes, or trainers, that this makes them better, bigger than someone else. I do not understand this logic at all, but it is there, in quite a significantly childish way. And it is promoted by advertising and the media - the footballer who promotes a particular brand, the supermodel who wears a particular perfume. I am not naive enough to think that just because I might buy David Beckham's latest clothing item that I will suddenly look like him … …

When we label to discriminate, to separate and isolate, it becomes something wrong and harmful. Our original evolutionary drive to compare was to help us see similarities, but we far too frequently use this essential skill to separate and isolate. To label myself a Manchester United fan, for example, would isolate myself from those of you who follow other local teams. (This is why I am a Rugby Union fan & refuse to be drawn into the tribal labelling that exists in football).

We are all labelled, all the time. This is to understand how we are, how we behave, but if we lose sight of the fact that we are all, in fact, individuals, with our own unique set of strengths, weaknesses and priorities, then we see that labelling people is pretty useless and frequently counterproductive.

That is why, here at Sandymoor, we refuse to label people. We do not have sets, and you are not taught in groups that label you. Instead, your teachers treat you all as individuals, tailoring your experience to your needs.

That is why we hold you, individually, to account here at Sandymoor. We do not label you and treat you differently just because of who you are. Too many schools do that. The 'Oh, that's so and so - they always behave like that' or the 'Don't try that - it'll be too hard for you'. This is so important, because when people do limit us, they put chains on our imagination that are hard to break. I remember to this day a senior teacher at my school saying to my parents that there were limits to my future - this person stated that sixth form would be of limited use to me because I wasn't bright enough to go to university … and here I am, with three degrees to my name … believe me when I tell you that I will never limit you, or let anyone else limit you.

At Sandymoor, we will never limit you or assume you have boundaries to your potential - instead, we will always work with you to help you achieve what you desire. As I've said many times before, the only limit to your future is your imagination. And some hard work ,of course, but without imagination, without a goal to aspire to, all the hard work in the world will get you nowhere.

Bullying, intimidation, harassment - all the things we have a zero tolerance policy towards - all start with making assumptions, labelling people, not looking at the individual, but treating them like someone, something different. Bullying starts with trying to limit the victim, let them feel that they are somehow less, somehow deserving of it all. And we will not tolerate this in any area.

So, at Sandymoor, no-one will ever say to you that you have limits on what you can achieve. No-one will ever put you in a class and then put a limiting label on that class. This is why we do not set, why we do not have a top, middle & bottom group. No-one will ever say that you shouldn't try something because it's beyond you or that you would never be able to understand. Instead, we promise to work with you, alongside you, to help you achieve your dreams and aspirations. Dare to dream, dare to aspire and we will support you all the way.

Following the Rules

The first assembly after half term was a revisit of rules and responsibilities;

Ok, so we all hate following the rules, don't we? The signs that say 'Please don't walk on the grass' make me want to, just because the sign says I can't!

But following rules is part of being one of a group, whether that's a family, a work place, a country or a school. The 'rules' are a set of guiding principles that a particular group of people agree to follow & they are not always bad!

Especially because a world with no rules at all would not be a good idea. It may sound great when you first think about it, but after a while, it quickly becomes more of a nightmare. The film series The Purge, where, for one day a year, there are no rules, shows what a world would be like without the mutual agreement to follow a set of laws. . .

Think about games for example. When we, as a family, play games, the youngest always wants to play by a slightly different set of rules; maybe that's why she always wins at Ludo … !

 

Or if we look at sports, all sports have a set of rules, in order for the game to progress with a clear flow and outcome. And yes, I know it's popular for the overpaid so-called stars of football to challenge the rules, but all their posturing and complaining doesn't affect the outcome or sway the referee. (as an aside, this is one of the reasons why I prefer rugby - one of the rules of rugby is that the referee's decision is final and binding, so there's never the toddler-like tantrums when someone falls foul of a rule during the game).

And there are rules we follow just by being part of the country. It's part of being 'British' - the unwritten rule that we will follow the rules, or laws,  and suffer the consequences if we're caught breaking them.

I may not like them all, I may not even agree with some of them, but that is completely irrelevant. As an adult member of society, I have to abide by the laws of the land. If I don't like it, I have the freedom to leave and go to another country. Or I can petition, become active and work to change the rules. Maybe I could even become a politician, go to parliament and work to change the rules. People have done so before; the abolition of slavery, equal rights for women, universal education and health care for all, etc. . .

But in the meantime, I accept the rules and live by them, or suffer the consequences if I don't. I know, for example, that if I am caught speeding on the roads, I will be fined & I know that, no matter how urgent, I must never answer an email or text while driving. It may be an important meeting that I'm running late for, but to speed to get there is not allowed by the rules & there are consequences if I'm caught breaking them. Even if I don't know it's against the rules; not knowing is not an excuse. . . There are people who think it is perfectly fine to break the rules on a regular basis - shoplift something just because they like the look of it & don't have the money to buy it, perhaps, or to drive without insurance because they can't afford the premiums. But these people are, in fact, hurting everyone else - goods in shops cost more because the shop has to make up for the lost income & my insurance for my car costs more to cover the people who cause accidents without insurance.

To decide to not follow the rules is a truly selfish act, thinking entirely of yourself, rather than others & not caring about harming others in the process.

And when you go to work in a company, you enter into a contract. The contract states that, providing you perform certain tasks, then you will get paid. But along with that, every company will have a set of rules that every employer agrees to abide by in order to be paid. In most companies, these rules are more commonly referred to as a 'Code of Conduct', because it's assumed that it's more of a mutual agreement to behave and act in a certain way in support of the company.

There's a lot in the news at the moment about how some politicians are not following their code of conduct and are suffering the consequences.

At Sandymoor, we have a Professional Conduct document that sets out the standards that all employees are expected to work with in order to support everything the school stands for.

And as students, you, too, have a set of standards that you are expected to work with as a Sandymoor student. You signed a home-school agreement when you first joined the school that sets out some of those standards of conduct. These are:

• Come to school expecting and wanting to learn.
• Approach each lesson in a positive manner, ready to listen and to be involved.
• Bring to each lesson all the books and equipment required.
• Keep books and files in suitable order within school or at home.
• Be conscientious in the completion of work in school or at home.
• Want to make progress and to seek help and advice when necessary.
• Take time in thinking about how they learn best.

You also agree to work with us in your standards of behaviour and dress & these are also written out and have been shared with you and your families. By being a Sandymoor student, you agree to live according to these rules, this code of conduct. And you agree to accept the consequences of not doing so.

I have spent some not inconsiderable time over the half term break preparing a single document that has the Professional Conduct expected from everyone who is part of the Sandymoor Community, both staff and students. This single document is designed to be a one-stop location for all our conduct & it is designed to show the (you, the) students that we are not expecting anything significantly above and beyond what any employer would expect of an employee (& indeed what I expect of every member of staff at Sandymoor).

To view this document, please click here.

And when you are challenged by a member of staff, either about your uniform, your behaviour or the quality of your work, all that is happening is that the member of staff is following their code of conduct in pointing out to you that you are not. . .

Holocaust Memorial Day

Assembly this week focussed on the remembrance of the liberation of the Death Camps, 70 years ago, how it & the war as a whole still impacts us today and then reflected on the lessons we can still learn.

For us as a school, we need to remember that Hitler was a bully who was allowed to get away with what he did because others let him. My assembly contained a number of images and a video, so I am trying it out in a different format:

https://sway.com/4E-fUkwKdDaKRbn3

Grit and Growth

Continuing to post weekly assemblies, here's this week's;

Why do we limit ourselves? Why do we tend to say 'I can't' quickly before we say 'I can'?

It is something we all suffer from and it is quite possibly the one main contributing factor in limiting out potential, limiting what we can achieve. Why do we do it?

There are many different theories, but all of them point to the fact that we can do something about it if we truly want to, which is good. That we often don't try because we feel we can't do it.

Some of us limit ourselves because we've been told, time and time again that we're no good. And we start to believe it. Maybe in primary school, or in a club, we try something, fail at it, and then someone says we're no good, so we believe them and stop. When someone we respect, someone in authority, tells us that we are no good at something, we tend to believe them, particularly when the evidence points to them being right.

At school, I was told that I would never really amount to anything; a senior teacher told my parents that there was little point me doing hard A-levels as I was most likely only going to fail them & maybe I should look at a safe local job for after school. Something inside of me told me that was wrong & I knew I wanted (& was able to) achieve more, but if I'd not thought that, I would not be here now.

The trouble is, there is a myth that we only use a small part of our brain & we can't do anything about that. Even scientists in the past felt that there was a limit on our use of the brain; the concept of IQ (Intelligence Quota), formed  by psychologists just over 100 years ago, was a test used to identify students in France who would not succeed in the newly created compulsory education system. It has since been used to identify people capable of being forced into the army in the first world war and is still, today, used in the USA to identify whether or not a criminal is 'intelligent enough' to have known that what they did was wrong when they murdered someone and so deserved the death penalty or not.

And in popular culture, there's an amazing film; Lucy, with Scarlett Johansson as the lead role, who accidently takes a new drug which expands the use of her mind to 100%. A great film, but one that reinforces the limit to our use of our brain without help from drugs or stimulants.

As science develops, we are more and more able to understand how our mind works; it is clearly still by a million-fold, the most complex object in the world to date and each and every one of us has a unique set of patterns in the billions of neural pathways that make up our mind, our memories stored as electrical impulses lighting up our brains. We can now 'watch' these signals fly around the brain in real time, and watch parts of our brain light up as we perform simple tasks. We know better than ever what parts of our brain do now and how they link together. And we know one important thing now that our ancestors of 100 years ago didn't:

That the brain can grow. 

We can develop our brain, just like any muscle, and make it better; in any way we want. We don't need to look to drugs like the character Lucy, in order to do more with our brain than we do now.

So we do not have innate intelligence. You are not, intrinsically, cleverer than I am, or better than me at things. Our ability is not fixed, so if we can't do something, it's just that we've not learnt how to do that yet.

What's funny, however, is that we know this in some areas of our life. When we get a 'Game Over' message on our PlayStation, we don't think we're no good and give up. Instead, we pick up the controller and click the 'start again' button, determined to not make the same mistake again that got us kicked out of the game last time.

The trouble is, we do have innate preferences; some of us find it easier to work with words than numbers, some of us work better with images or pictures than words. These are all subtle differences that make us unique. I am not so good with languages, but it did not stop me going back to evening school to learn a foreign language even though my MFL teacher at school told me I was hopeless and couldn’t learn a language. I am not brilliant, but I can get by in France now. Because I did not believe that I couldn't do it. 

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship by the US government to visit schools in New York & Washington (The International Visiting Leaders programme), where I met some amazing students, teachers and leaders. One school in particular, in Washington, sticks in my mind - they have a huge sign in the entrance way to the school, which is seen by students, staff and visitors every day. It reads:

"If you don't understand, it's not your fault"

I think this is the most powerful statement ever. It means that, whatever you are studying, whatever you are doing, it's never, really, 'Game Over', so long as you are willing to pick up the controller again and have another go. You will certainly progress further each time and will, eventually, get there, so long as you don't give up.

But it takes one thing that is rapidly becoming a very hot topic in education & society in general. It's given an American phrase; Grit. Grit is the determination to keep on going, to not give up. To re-start the game and learn from our mistakes.

International Education Leaders' Briefing 2015

On the 18th January, I was honoured to be a speaker at the Microsoft Education Leaders' Briefing; the ELB is a forum for presenting the latest thoughts on the integration of technology and education and they are attended by people from across the globe. We had been invited to participate in this as one of the UK's 6 Global Showcase Schools, identified by Microsoft as being world innovators in the use of technology to change young people's life's for the better.

Below is the text of my presentation:

Good Morning & Thank you. My name is Andy Howard and I have now been teaching for 25 years! An awful lot has changed in that time, but an awful lot has remained the same. I now find myself as Principal of Sandymoor School, one of only 6 UK schools to have been awarded Global Showcase School status by Microsoft for our innovative approach to education and the use of ICT in education.

Sandymoor School is a brand new school; we were founded under the government's Free Schools programme, a mechanism that allowed schools to be set up in response to local need and without the control of local government. An initiative based on the Scandinavian Free School & US Charter School models.  

Three years ago, we opened in temporary cabins, steel boxes bolted together and fitted out with basic services. It did not stop us having strong ambitions for our students and we grew. 18 months ago, work started on a brand new building, where I worked with architects to match our vision and our ambitions. We now have a building that would qualify for the Internet of Things - a smart building … … CO2 measurement & Temperature sensors in all rooms,  lights that dim if it's bright outside, etc.

We are pretty much unique - a brand new school, built entirely from the ground up, metaphorically as well as literally, proposed and founded by 5 local parents, ordinary people, mums and dads who just wanted to make a difference.

There are very few opportunities these days to be involved in the start of something as big, as ambitious, as grand as starting a brand new school! Our founders are still very much involved in the school, all being on the governing body and very actively taking interest in their school. The school sits in a relatively new suburb of the New Town of Runcorn. A twin of Milton Keynes, Runcorn was built after the second world war to provide housing to the bombed out estates of Liverpool. Still growing today, the suburb of Sandymoor is the last growth area for the town. Sandymoor currently has around 900 houses, but is part of the government's house building strategy and is scheduled to grow to over 2,000 homes over the short term. The vast majority of the homes in Sandymoor are classed as medium density, higher status family homes & they are very sought after houses.

To the west of the school, we have, however, housing estates built when volume was the only measure for housing and some of the estates within a mile of the school rank as some of the most deprived communities in the UK.

One of the school's great strengths is our diversity and our school community. We have students from all backgrounds in the school and almost all of them local. Over 70% of our young people live within a mile of the school. In an area of the UK where social mobility is at its worst, we are an example of aspiration, with high standards of academic, social and personal development expected from all our community.

One final piece of our local setting is our proximity to the world-renowned Daresbury Science and Innovation Centre; the home of the Particle Accelerator and still a world leader in scientific innovation.

The founders set a very strong and ambitious vision for the school; to be an 11-18 school, producing intelligent, employable global citizens that demonstrate social competence, a desire for learning and respect for each other and the world around us.

And there is so much in this statement:

In a world where we cannot predict 6 months ahead, we are, as educators, trying to do the impossible. We are having to prepare our young people to do jobs that don’t even exist yet, using technologies that haven't been invented yet, solving problems we don’t even know about yet.

And with technology as it is, we are now living in a global village, with communication around the world virtually instantaneous, news beamed around the world as it happens and workers engaged in collaboration with colleagues in almost any continent. How do we prepare our young for this?

With all of that, and the world they are inheriting from us, they also need to be more socially aware, more tolerant and accepting of others than ever before. Xenophobia and fear is driving a wedge between people and we need to be providing opportunities for our young to learn from our mistakes and build a better future.

Now, I am not a technologist, never have been and never will be. I am an educationalist. Passionate about helping our young to be the best they can be. And I believe that the only way we will be able to do this, in our world, is through engaging fully with technology.

Our ICT strategy has this as its opening statement:

ICT alone will not transform learning, but learning will not be transformed without it.

This is their world, immersed in technology, the world at their fingertips. We need to embrace this world of theirs and engage with them on their territory.

Blended learning, where technology is used, when (& only when) it is better than other means. When it allows us to do things previously unimagined.

Young people, all over the world, are fundamentally no different to how they've always been; shy, uncertain, desperate to be different, individual, determined to grow up before they are ready and ultimately complex, amazing and totally unpredictable.

But they now live out their lives as much, if not more online, in the digital world. They are the digital natives, whilst we are immigrants in this brave new world.

However, just because they are the natives, it does not mean that they will embrace every new initiative, or 'learn more' just because it's delivered using technology. That is the mistake that has been made so many times before, with the results that there are numerous research papers that state that technology does not improve student outcomes.

In fact, they will defend their territory as fiercely as any pack of lions seeing off a rival group. Why on earth would they want to allow into their social world the dull duty of learning without a fight?

And that's why, I think, we at Sandymoor are starting to get it right. By being a brand new school, we have been able to think carefully about everything we have done; imagine it completely anew and ensure that every element of Sandymoor is fit for purpose as a 21st Century School.

We start every planning exercise with a blank sheet of paper and ask the question; what do we want this to look like, in the modern world. We do not automatically assume that the way things have been done before are still fit for purpose. Where they are, we use them, but only after testing them against our vision.

What do we want a 21st century student to do, to be, to experience? How do we help them adapt their skills to make them accept the use of technology in their world?

And that has to influence, in fact shape, the whole infrastructure.

First of all, we are all, now, used to looking up the answer to something at the click of a button, the swipe of a finger. So a teacher is no longer the gatekeeper of knowledge, the expert and deliverer of understanding. It is no longer valid to have the teacher stand at the front of a room, delivering material to students. The whiteboard, let alone the interactive whiteboard, is redundant, because I can look up the answer to a question faster than you can write the question on a board.

At Sandymoor, we have twin projectors at right angles to each other, which project directly onto the wall, painted in an ultra-matt, green-tinged cream, which is, according to research, a much easier surface to read off, without glare from a bright white surface. And the twin projection system means that the learning experience is an all-encompassing, immersive one.

There is no traditional 'front of class', with no teachers' desk, either, which means that the classroom environment has a much more collaborative atmosphere; my teachers are very much more 'Guides on the Side', as opposed to 'Sages on the Stage'.

Getting rid of whiteboards entirely, which in their time replaced the old black chalk board, is a clear sign that we are starting to use technology to completely redefine education, rather than mere modification of old habits.

But we also have to think about what, in fact, the point of school is in the modern world. What place does the teacher have, now? If they are no longer the gatekeeper of knowledge, then they do have to adapt completely to a completely different role, that of guide and mentor, helping the student to find their way, develop their understanding and grow in independence.

The most transformational invention of the last 50 years has to be the internet, the 'Cloud', and it is to the cloud that we have looked to ensure that we are building for the future, ensuring capacity.

Collaboration is key here; working together, in collaborative spaces, we grow and share and experience more than we ever can in isolation.

But we always have to come back to what is most important; the young people we are all doing this for. How do we ensure that everything we do will help them grow and succeed in their future, especially when we can't see what their future looks like?

 By building a structure, in the cloud, using collaborative spaces, we ensure that outcomes are clear and impact is strong. Students work together, with teachers, to learn off each other, learn how to learn and develop the skills for future growth.

The skills they need, adaptability, mental flexibility, and perseverance, are all developed in a curriculum focussed around collaborating in online spaces. Students can bring in their own devices, regardless of make or model. Our wifi is designed around public space capacity, with 1-1 infrastructure being not ambitious enough for us (I, personally, have 4 devices that connect to wifi with me today), so we have a complex wifi network capable of dealing with any device a student could bring in and capacity for over 3,000 separate device connections.

We need to meet students where they are, so one over-riding principle for me is what I call device agnosicity. Any systems we use in school need to be accessible by whatever the student will bring in. For us, Office 365 exemplifies this.

Against popular convention, as I have said, our students have been resistant to embracing this, but for two reasons;

First of all, as I've said before, it is trespassing on their territory. We need to tread carefully, and not assume that they want us in their space. We need to set out our case, let them accept the need first and foremost. We have done this by assuming a very business-like environment. All our students have the same access & expectations on them as my staff. Homework, project deadlines, meetings, etc., are all set with students via calendar invites. We don’t have student planners. Communication between staff & student is via email, with the same expectations for reading and action. There is no skin on our systems - we don't treat them like children; there is no dancing frog or comic sans fonts in sight. . . (Did Facebook create a young-person centric version, with silly characters or simple fonts?)

And then secondly, we expect them to take responsibility, to accept that they are part of the solution, that they have to actively participate rather than just be passive recipients of learning. That is hard work. But it is important, because it’s about behaviour modification, about teaching them to take responsibility, whilst there is a safety blanket around them to ensure they don't get hurt. 

But they are still children and while the social domain is very firmly theirs, we need to help and support them, which means we need to be active in their domain. Tools such as Yammer, in the Office 365 environment, are perfect for this, bringing the social into the workplace.

There is also, however, the flip side of the coin and that is the teachers themselves.

We need to ensure that we don’t forget that there is a behavioural management change required here too. If we are going to truly instigate transformation, we need to support, encourage and if necessary cajole teachers into learning new ways to be as well. There is always a workload increase when something new is implemented, but it is important to ensure that there is a clear pathway to smarter not harder ways of working.

Ultimately, however, it needs a strong vision, clearly focussed, with the modern student at the heart, to ensure that we truly transform education. And it does need transformation, if not revolution, across the world - we are failing so many young people and politicians talk about percentage improvements in test scores, without really recognising that every percentage point that fails is a real student who learns that they are not a success. . .

Technology will not transform learning, but without it learning will not be transformed.

Thank you